Who We Are

Lunch didn't come soon enough, but I was relieved when I finally was walking to into the over-crowded lunch room, surrounded by the sounds of other kids who were feeling the same way I was. I crossed the large room and went to sit down, not really feeling hungry for the food that the school tried to give us.

"Hey girl," Dean greeted as he walked up and tossed his bag down into an empty chair before sitting himself down in his usual one, "What are we doing after school?"

I shrugged. "I don't know what you two are doing, but I've got detention," I told him as I rested my chin on the palm of my hand.

Dean laughed. "What for?"

I rolled my eyes. "Stupid Vanna and Monica," I growled, rolling my eyes.

Dean scooted forward in his chair and raised his eyebrow. "Did you get in a fight..?" he asked, motioning with his hand to continue.

I greeted Emily as she walked up but then continued to explain to Dean. "Vanna thinks I slept with Ronnie Radke," I said, rolling my eyes again, "And she and Monica cornered me and I was late because of it."

Emily looked shocked as she leaned across the table, looking at me with huge, wide eyes. "Why would they think you slept with him?" she asked quietly and quickly, insinuating that she too, thought there was some kind of possibility that it could've really happened.

My jaw dropped. "I didn't!" I shouted at her, catching the attention of some of the people littering the tables around us.

Emily nodded and held her hands up in defense as she sat back in her chair. "Sorry," she said with a shrug, "But you two do live next to each other."

I glared at her. "You live next to Mr. Alverson, does that mean you sleep with him?" I asked, referring to a freshman math teacher.

Emily made a disgusted face and said, "That's nasty, Kat."

I shuttered. "So is what you were thinking about me and him!"

Emily sighed and nodded her head in agreement before she stood up. "I"m going to get lunch," she said, motioning towards the Healthy Choice line. "Are you coming?"

I shook my head. "No thanks," I replied, "I'm not hungry."

Emily nodded and asked Dean to go with her. He grinned and shouted about how hungry he was before he jumped up and ran off to the pizza line, laughing at Emily as she growled at him and demanded he go with her.

He changed directions and followed after her, offering me a secretive smile that I knew meant he was just trying to make her mad on purpose. I grabbed my backpack from the floor and unzipped it. I grabbed the homework that my teachers had already assigned this morning and started working on it.

A couple minutes later I looked up as someone came racing over to me, catching not only my attention but many people's as she crashed into the table. "Kat," she said with wide eyes.

"Why aren't you in class, Gwen?" I cut her off as I stood up quickly, stuffing my things into my back before swinging it onto my back and walking over to her. "You've got to get back to class."

She shook her head and pushed my hand off of her arm. "Max and Ronnie are getting into a fight," she said quickly.

"What?" I replied, "Why?"

She shook her head and again and said, "No! Not with each other!"

I rolled my eyes and motioned for her to continued. "Then with who?"

She sighed. "Just listen, Katerina. Max and Ronnie are fighting with a huge group of boys! And they're fighting about you!"

My jaw dropped as I told her to show me the way. "Why are they fighting about me?!" I shouted, pushing her slightly so that she'd move faster towards the place she'd seen them while on a trip to the bathroom.

"I don't know," she said as she led me down the hallway to where a group of kids were outlining the area where Ronnie was standing, shoving a tall boy into his own friends.

"Move," I growled as I pushed past the people towards the front of the crowd so I could better hear what they were yelling. Gwen stood behind me and grabbed my arm so that she didn't get lost in the group of cheering teenagers.

"Just keep your fucking mouth shut!" Ronnie shouted as he lunged out of Max's grip and towards shaggy haired boy. I watched as Ronnie swung his right fist and collided with the boy's already swollen cheek.

The boy's hand moved to cup his cheek and he shouted, "You cheat on your girlfriend with that and now you get pissed when someone confronts you about it? You asshole," he growled, nodding towards me.

Ronnie glanced over his shoulder and then rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Uley," Ronnie said, "I didn't sleep with Katerina so why don't you back the hell off and go back to banging my girlfriend."

The boy, who I now recognized as Westly Uley, just smirked and shrugged. But before he could say anything, Vanna shoved through the other side of the crowd and pushed Westly away. Then she started yelling at Ronnie and pointing at me, talking about how we'd slept together because a few of her friends had seen him walking out of my house the day before.

Ronnie rolled his eyes. "That's bullshit," he said to her, "I was talking to her fucking sister."

Vanna's eyes moved from me to Gwen and she turned to glare at Ronnie again. "I don't care what Silverstein sister you're talking to, but I can't believe you would do that, you asshole."

Ronnie looked at her flatly. "Her baby sister," he said simply, "She's like five," he said with flick of his hair.

Vanna looked past him and glared at me. "You're pathetic," she said, "Stealing other people's boyfriends because you're too pathetic to get your own."

I took a step forward and pushed Gwendolyn behind me as I shook my head. "I've never touched him," I replied, looking to the irate girl who just scoffed.

"You dirty liar," she said, lifting her nose into the air slightly. "He might sleep with you, but he'll never want you," she spat, "You're poor, and boring, and completely ordinary. There's nothing special about you at all and he'll never want anything to do with you, Katerina."

Max, who was standing next to Ronnie, walked over to me and grabbed my arm lightly. "You're being cruel, Vanna," he called to her, watching as she shrugged.

She looked over to Ronnie and smirked, "It's true," she said, "Isn't it, Ronnie? You don't want anything to do with her, and you never will. She's too boring for you."

Ronnie looked to me and looked me over before turning back to Vanna. "Why don't you just shut the hell up," he said.

Vanna just shrugged with a mocking smile on her face. "You don't need to waste your time with Kat Silverstein."

Ronnie ignored her and looked past the crowd as they moved aside, exposing a woman who worked for the school. She was basically a hall-aid who walked around the school's halls making sure everyone was in class and not getting into any trouble. Vanna looked over her shoulder and laughed.

"I'll see you around, Ronnie," she said confidently. "You're still mine."

Ronnie just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No, I'm not," he retorted before turning around and walking over to me. "Lets go, Katerina," he said, grabbing my arm as he dragged me away from the people with Gwendolyn following behind us quickly, behind Max.

"Let go of me," I demanded, pushing his fingers off of my arm. "This isn't my fault!" I added harshly when he wouldn't let go, "I'm not the one who got thrown out of my house!"

Ronnie stopped instantly and turned around quickly, so that his chest was pressed against mine and he was looking down into my face with a glare in his eyes. "Lets go," he growled, dragging me off in another direction.

I fought against him as Gwen called my name, being held back by Max who had grabbed her around the waist and told her that I would be fine, although when I looked up to Ronnie's expression, I wasn't sure I would be.

I struggled to get his hand off of me as he pulled me through the back hall and out to the old courtyard that opened up to the parking lot. It was vacant since students weren't allowed to go out here anymore seeing as too many kids were walking right off school grounds. Instead they built a courtyard that was surrounded on all sides by the lunch room.

Ronnie pulled me out to the side of the school and let go of my arm when I tried to yank it away from him. "What's your problem?!" I shouted, shoving him away from me and trying to race past him.

He reached out and grabbed me before I could pass him completely. "Relax, Katerina," he said with a roll of his chocolate colored eyes, "I just want to talk to you."

I stopped short and looked up to him in shock at his simple tone of voice. "Why?" I asked slowly.

"Obviously people are starting rumors about us," he said, looking down to me.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "And what do you want me to do about it?"

Ronnie seemed to think about it for a moment before he shrugged. "I don't know."

"Then why do I have to be out here?" I asked critically, "My friends are probably wondering where I went. I have to get back." I gave Ronnie one last look before I turned on my heels and headed back towards the doors of the school that were always unlocked.

"Kat, wait," Ronnie called, causing me to turn around to look at him slowly. When I did, he was standing right in front of me. "You know Vanna was just talking shit, right? Nobody believes that crap she said about you."

I rolled my eyes, moving to turn away.

"Kat, wait," he said again with a sigh. "Are you going to say anything?"

"Now, or about why someone saw you coming out of my house?"

Ronnie just stared.

I sighed and shook my head. "I already told you I wouldn't."

"Even if it could clear all this up? Perfect little Katerina Silverstein, letting the Radkes crash on her floor when their daddy beats them." He rolled his eyes and shuffled a step back, grasping at his pockets, likely for a smoke.

"I don't get how you seem to think I'm some stuck up princess, yet everyone in that hallway apparently thinks I'm poor, social-climbing slut."

He lit a cigarette and shook his head as he released the smoke. "Nobody really thinks that, Vanna's just throwing her shit onto you. If you don't like it, you could just tell the truth."

My expression darkened. "If you dragged me out here just to warn me not to say anything, then you're wasting both of our time. I don't want to be involved in this at all. I've had enough of Vanna and Monica's attention, and I don't need someone seeing us and making it worse."

"Who cares what those girls think," he muttered, flicking the ash off the end of his cigarette.

"It's not about them. It's about the whole school thinking I'm some bottom feeder who's trying to get with you. As if I'd waste my time with someone who wouldn't even stick up for me back there."

Ronnie frowned, dark eyes holding on me. "I stood up for you."

I scoffed, turning away from the smoke and his gaze. "Okay."

"Wait, I did," he argued grabbing my wrist. "Why the fuck do you think the fight started."

"I have a guess," I muttered, yanking out of his hold.

"I was sick of hearing them talk shit about you, Kat. I don't give a shit what anyone says about me, but I know you're not any of the things they're saying. It's fucked that they're bringing you down to my level."

Kat scoffed. "Do you not see what everyone thinks about you, Ronnie? They think you're slumming it with me."

Ronnie rolled his eyes. "That's bullshit."

"Well, they don't think so. And you dragging me out here like this is my fault doesn't look any better. Vanna already made it clear that you, and everyone else, think I'm some pathetic little girl trying to get with you."

Ronnie frowned, cigarette pinched between his fingers. "That's a fucking lie."

"It doesn't matter what you think. They think that's what you think." I folded my arms, staring across the paved patio at him. The whole situation was infuriating.

"I didn't say much in there because I thought it would make things worse," Ronnie defended. "But I started a fucking fight for you."

"They're just going to see it as you being annoyed that people think you slept with someone like me."

"Kat, I wouldn't be pissed if it wasn't a fucking lie. If me punching that guy in the face made it seem like I was pissed that they would think I'd sleep with you, that's not what I meant."

"Okay," I said, gaze staring blankly toward the sky. "Can I go now?"

"No," the boy argued, frustration in his tone. My eyes snapped back down to him, a warning in them.

"I don't actually need your permission."

"Good, cause you don't have it. Not until you believe me."

"I don't need to believe you. None of this matters. Vanna will shut up when she realizes you're still into her. She obviously blames me more than you for fake cheating on her."

'I'm not even- You're pissing me off. Why the fuck don't you believe me? I wasn't mad that they thought I slept with you. I was mad that they thought you slept with me."

"Maybe because you've always acted like I'm some social-climbing fake, and you don't want your own reputation messed up by the idea that you'd stoop so low."

"I haven't said shit about you," he countered in frustration. "I haven't told anyone that you live next to me. I never tried to bring down that stellar fucking reputation of yours, Kat."

I scoffed.

"It doesn't matter what fucking Vanna and Monica say, everyone knows you're too good for me. Too fucking pristine."

I leveled my gaze at him, annoyed with his view of me. I'd worked hard to be good at school and to get somewhere. Sure, I didn't have the same shitty home life as him and Max, but I came from the same neighborhood, the same tax bracket. Everyone seemed to think that I was playing pretend, playing teacher's pet, acting better than I was when really they thought I was all those things Vanna said about me.

"You are, you know," Ronnie said, meeting that look.

"What? Some rich-kid-wannabe?"

"Too good for me," he countered.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not playing your game. I don't care what you think of me."

Ronnie stepped a little closer. "What if it was all good things?"

"Stop it," I demanded. "I don't care why you started the fight or what you think of me. Let's go back to not paying attention to each other and everyone will leave me alone."

"Maybe I don"t want to."

"Maybe I don't care what you want." I turned away, frustration climbing. Being around Ronnie was like diving head first into the mess of his mind. I couldn't take it, and I didn't want to try. The best move would be to stay away from each other. He could go back to crashing at Max's to avoid his dad, and we could pretend we didn't know each other. Had never been friends at all. My mom was gone, my dad needed to move on from her savior complex.

Ronnie reached for my arm the split second before I grabbed the door to leave. He dragged me back and slipped into the space between me and the building. His tattooed fingers slid up to my neck, and his other hand grabbed my chin and tipped my face up to him.

He kissed me, and my brain short circuited with his drastic shift.

I turned my face away, pushing him back by the shoulders with an overwhelmed gasp.

"You okay?" He frowned, reaching for my face again to force my eyes to his.

I shoved him away, meeting his gaze. My mouth was parted in shock. "What are you doing?"

He folded his arms, his eyes daring. "Do you believe me now?"

"Why do you care?!" I shouted, shoving away from him.

"Because I'm not having you leaving thinking I'm annoyed that they would think we fucked around."

I crossed my arms, trying not to feel petulant as I glared. "You had to kiss me to get your point across?"

He shook his head slowly. "You didn't take me seriously, and I wanted to."

"This is not funny," I answered, shaking my head as I yanked my backpack up further. "I'm not feeding into these rumors because you're bored and irritated with Vanna. I'm not like that, so go find your annoying girlfriend and leave me alone."

"Like what?" he asked, frowning when I yanked the door open and slipped inside. "Kat!" he called after me, "Katerina!"